James Ryan Jonas

Plan your finances during the 8-day Christmas break

Filipinos will have at least 8-days holiday after the government officially declared December 25 until January 1 special working and regular holidays. (Actually, some people are planning a 12-day holiday by not going to work during the “sandwich” days.)

The last banking day of the year then is on December 24 while the next banking day is on January 2, 2009. During the long holiday, make sure you plan your finances. Otherwise, you might end up cash-strapped because ATMs might go offline or might have no more available cash.

Here are tips from BPI how to plan and manage your finances during the long Christmas holiday.

Supreme Court issues TRO vs. Legacy banks

It is reported that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Central Bank of the Philippines) successfully secured with the Supreme Court last week a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) on enforcement of lower court rulings that favored several banks under the Legacy Group.

According to the story:

The high tribunal’s decision effectively gives banking regulators the green light to act on adverse findings made during their last examination of the 10 financial institutions scattered around the country.

The financial institutions covered by the ruling are Rural Bank of Parañaque Inc., Rural Bank of San Jose (Batangas) Inc., Rural Bank of Carmen (Cebu) Inc., Pilipino Rural Bank Inc., Philippine Countryside Rural Bank Inc., Rural Bank of Calatagan (Batangas) Inc. (now Dynamic Rural Bank), Rural Bank of DARBCI Inc., Rural Bank of Kananga (Leyte) Inc. (now First Interstate Rural Bank), Rural Bank of Bisayas Minglanilla (now Bank of East Asia), and San Pablo City Development Bank Inc.

Your house: an asset or a liability?

There’s an interesting discussion going on in the PMT Forum, about one’s residence and whether it is an asset or a liability.

By definition, an asset is anything that can directly or indirectly contribute future cash flows. A liability, on the other hand, is anything that can result to a transfer or disposal of an asset.

In this context, is the house an asset or a liability? Here are a few thoughts from some PMT members.

Pacquiao vs de la Hoya: Who will win?

On December 6, Filipino boxing champion Manny Pacquiao will battle “The Golden Boy” Oscar dela Hoya in what is dubbed boxing’s “Dream Match.” Recent reports … Read More

Don't travel to Thailand right now

A friend of mine from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) told me to forward the message to all concerned to postpone any travel to Thailand because of the current chaos and unrest occurring in the country.
Apparently, thousands of people are stranded in Thailand right now because protesters shut down the country’s main airport.
This recent incident is already a major escalation of the four-month campaign of protesters to oust the prime minister.

Is Citibank the next big bank to collapse?

Before, it was Bear Sterns.

Then AIG.

Then the Lehman Brothers.

Is Citibank the next big, global bank to fail?

Yes, according to some financial experts interviewed by the UK newspaper The Daily Mail. According to analysts, the company may not have enough cash to withstand subprime mortgage losses that could amount to £13.3 billion.

How much have you lost so far in this bear market?

The global economy is now said to be in recession. Stock markets worldwide have been suffering from steep losses. And individual investors are losing money in most of their investments.
In the PMT Forum, members have been talking about how much they have lost so far during this bearish period of the market. Here are some posts.

Ayala Corp’s “Class A” Preferred Shares

Ayala Corporation, the country’s largest conglomerate, will be issuing a total of 12 million preferred “Class A “shares for P500 each. Proceeds from the issue will be used to fund the company’s investments in business process outsourcing (BPO) and overseas real estate projects.

Unlike owners of common shares, preferred stockholders do not have voting rights but are the first to get paid in case a company is liquidated.

Ayala Corp (Stock Code: AC)‘s Preferred Shares will pay a fixed dividend rate of 8.88% per annum. Minimum subscription is 100 shares and succeeding placements must be in multiples of 20 shares.

James Ryan Jonas

Pinoy Money Talk